With respect to the image acquisition modalities, like MR scanners and the like manly two major categories of operations and activities have to be carried out: First, the control of the imaging device (e.g. MR scanner) as such and second, the processing of the acquired images (typically referred to as post-processing). Both, the control of the scanner as well as the post-processing are executed by means of a computer. This is why the MR scanner is delivered with a controlling workstation and a processing workstation.
Up to now, there has been a strict separation between the control of the scanner on the one hand and the post-processing of the acquired data on the other hand. For this reason at least two different workstations were provided.
In the new MR scanner generation, however, no longer two separated systems should be provided but one single computer based system, in particular one single workstation for both the scanner control and the post-processing tasks. However, the applications are still running on different systems.